Thumbrest and fretting techniques

[joechummer]

Where to put the thumb - When I first casually learned to play bass, I would use pretty much just the pickup as the home for my thumb and not any of the strings. Lately, now that I've gotten back into it with a more serious mindset, I've taken to resting my thumb on the E string when I'm hitting the A, on the A when I'm hitting D, and on the D when I'm hitting the G. I recently got Jaco Pastorius's video, and from what I can tell, he will rest his thumb on the pickup, the E, and the A strings, but never on the D string. How does this work? I can't seem to rest on the A string and manage to easily play on the G without accidentally hitting D. Is my technique of thumb-above-the-string-you're-playing a valid one? The only time I don't rest just above the string I'm playing is if I know I'll be coming right back up to that string and I don't want to risk not being able to lift my thumb fast enough to the next highest string.

Fretting technique - I came from a guitar background, where I learned to use one finger per fret: 1st fret, index; 2nd fret, middle; 3rd fret, ring; 4th fret, pinkie. When I started playing bass, this seemed really awkward and painful to me since the frets are much further apart, especially the closer to the nut you get, and since you have to push the strings down harder on a bass than you do for a guitar due to their difference in size. I had this problem until the video that came with my new bass suggested only using 3 fingers: 1st fret, index; 2nd fret, middle; 3rd (or 4th) fret, pinkie (or ring+pinkie on the same fret if your pinkie isn't strong enough yet). I quickly took to this, as it felt more natural to me, especially in Half and First Positions. It didn't take me more than 2 or 3 days before I got accustomed to taking my middle finger out of the equation altogether. But, once again, I noticed in Jaco's video that he advocates the one-finger-per-fret method. I've been playing sans middle finger for so long that it's really hard for me to even try incorporating my middle finger back into the mix unless I'm playing really high up on the neck (past the 12th fret or so), when the frets are really close together. My question is, should I try forgetting my original technique and relearn with all four fingers all the way up the neck, stick with just 3 fingers, or try to develop a hybrid between the two?

[pseudoxh4]

Originally Posted by joechummer

Is my technique of thumb-above-the-string-you're-playing a valid one?

The technique you describe is known as the "movable anchor". I use it a lot of the time, but I leave my thumb at least 2 or 3 strings behind the string I'm playing mainly due to how I position it. In the end, it depends on your technique. Don't rely on just one bassist's word-- look at how other bassists are doing it and experiment. See what works best for you.

My question is, should I try forgetting my original technique and relearn with all four fingers all the way up the neck, stick with just 3 fingers, or try to develop a hybrid between the two?

Relearn with all four fingers. You can survive with just three, but I believe you will be limiting yourself.

[Krowser]

Floating anchor all the way. I never thought it actually had a name until I registered on this forum. I picked it up by myself in my first year of playing because it was, at the time, the only way to keep my damn strings muted. I'm always using it, and at the fullest. If I play the G, my thumb is on the D, if I play the D, i'm on the A, etc etc. It's not only for muting strings but also to keep in mind where your plucking hand is without actually looking at it.

As for frets, I survived (yes, survived) for 4 years with 3 fingers because my pinky wasnt strong enough but as I started playing more and more complicated music, I realised I needed my pinky more than ever. It was hard at first because it's a weakling but what helped was mashing hammer-ons, every day, with my pinky.

like: 5-h9, 5-h9, 5-h9, keep doing it, it's like working out.

With enough practice, I finally got comfortable using my pinky and the 1:1 fret ratio works really well.

The more you use your pinky, the more your hand will be able to stretch, I finally got the 1-5 down without too much fret buzz. (Fret 1 with the index, fret 5 with the pinky)

It was awful at first but: practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice!

[joechummer]

Originally Posted by Krowser

The more you use your pinky, the more your hand will be able to stretch, I finally got the 1-5 down without too much fret buzz. (Fret 1 with the index, fret 5 with the pinky)

Stretching -- Wow. My hand is nowhere near big enough for a 1--5 stretch. I stretched my index and pinkie as far apart as they would go -- and not even worrying about strings or frets -- and I only have about 5.5" between them. That may be enough for a quick mini slide from 1 to 5, but not for 4 whole frets that close to the nut. Maybe if I was double-jointed or had longer fingers...

4-finger technique -- I don't really have a problem with strength in my pinkie. It works just fine. I just can't seem to get my ring finger to cooperate. What's weird is if I pick up my guitar -- and this is after about 5 years of not actively playing it, mind -- my ring finger does what it's supposed to. On the bass, however, it's almost like it's been cut off, even if I try to think about using it. I didn't figure that two months of 15-20 minute practices every day or so would be enough to effectively amputate my ring finger, but apparently it was. And when I purposely MAKE my ring finger fret notes, it's REALLY weak. On a guitar, though, it's just fine.

Really weird, if you ask me.

[lament]

Hi, and hello TalkBass, this is my first post!

Fretting hand: My teacher actually told me to stop using four fingers and use the index-middle-pinky method instead.
He gives three reasons for this:
1) Your tone will be better, because it's much easier to hold the string down with enough strength and in the right position behind the fret (and especially on fretless)
2) Your intonation will be better (easier to control, harder to screw up) if you're playing fretless
3) You're much less likely to injure your hand by overstretching. Look around the forums - this is a real issue.

It makes sense to use one finger per fret when you need it (fast melodic passages) and three fingers otherwise (most basslines in most styles of music). It also makes sense to use four fingers where it's easy (high up the neck).

I use three fingers "by default", and switch to one-per-fret only when it's obviously better.

[dvh]

Originally Posted by lament

Hi, and hello TalkBass, this is my first post!

Fretting hand: My teacher actually told me to stop using four fingers and use the index-middle-pinky method instead.
He gives three reasons for this:
1) Your tone will be better, because it's much easier to hold the string down with enough strength and in the right position behind the fret (and especially on fretless)
2) Your intonation will be better (easier to control, harder to screw up) if you're playing fretless
3) You're much less likely to injure your hand by overstretching. Look around the forums - this is a real issue.

It makes sense to use one finger per fret when you need it (fast melodic passages) and three fingers otherwise (most basslines in most styles of music). It also makes sense to use four fingers where it's easy (high up the neck).

I use three fingers "by default", and switch to one-per-fret only when it's obviously better.

Sounds like he comes from a double bass background. 1, 2, and 3 are all true for double bass. But, on electric, the frets are closer together and you should have no problem having strength with the ring finger. I play both.